The Wild Idea
Sam Rutherford of Prepare2Go first had the idea some years ago: it was a wild suggestion - could he organise a trip where a small airplane landed at the North Pole?
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Sure, Prepare2Go had organised 'flying safaris' to many locations before, so that pilots of small aircraft could have an adventure to a far away or exotic place. In each case arranging everything: the route, fuel, landing permits, over-flight permissions, hotels, meals and anything else you could think of - not least, the vital search and rescue services if it all went pear-shaped.
But all these aspects, for a 'flying safari' to the North Pole, would be on a different level altogether.
Of these, the most difficult aspect was search and rescue turned out to be impossible: it was just not possible to arrange in advance. If something went wrong, the aviators would be on their own, almost certainly for a prolonged period - hours at least, potentially days. Or maybe search and rescue would never find them.
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Normally, Prepare2Go ask participants in their adventures to sign a disclaimer, that some things are not guaranteed.
And specifically for the North Pole trip, as Sam said "we can't guarantee pretty much anything: not that they will get there, nor even alive". Gulp!
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Nevertheless Prepare2Go set out organising a North Pole trip, for those pilots intrepid enough to take on the challenge. As it happened several expressed interest; two airplanes eventually signed up although one of these turned back at Tromsø, Norway, before setting off across the freezing water to the islands of Svalbard.
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The Preparation
As it was such an adventure Sam approached a friend, Thomas Dove of Boundary Films (Bristol, UK), also a private pilot, to film the trip and all the preparations.
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So Thomas with his daughter Laura as sound recordist, set off to Belgium to the Prepare2Go headquarters near Brussels and followed Sam, his wife Bea de Smat and James Yau while they first of all explored the options. Was it even feasible to do the trip? Who 'owned' the North Pole location? What permissions were required? How to get there? Then how to land there - and vitally, how to get back? What time of year would be best? What were the risks, and how to mitigate these risks? (Assuming it was possible to do so.)
All these and many more questions the Prepare2Go team worked through, as Boundary Films recorded their highs and lows.
At times it looked like the trip was unfeasible, but following the name of Sam's own airplane "Never Say Never", they persevered and eventually all was set (at least as far as it could be).
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The one question remained: would anyone be brave enough to take on the challenge?
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The Trip Itself
This was of course the hard part for everyone - aviators, film crew and Prepare2Go. It was one thing filming in the comfort of the Prepare2Go offices in Belgium, having 'theoretical' discussions of what could happen.
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A whole different kettle of fish being there, over 200 miles above the Arctic Circle at the northern tip of Norway, or even further north on the islands of Svalbard in temperatures of minus 20 degrees centigrade, filming outside for hours on end.
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The Final Film
In 44 minutes the Arctic Aviators film tells the remarkable story of what happened. On more than one occasion it looked like the aviators might die - in fact one time, it seemed almost certain.
The visual imagery is simply stunning, more so the further north the team goes and it was an emotional roller coaster not only for the aviators but also for Sam and the filming team.
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Claudia Christian narrates the film beautifully, telling the story of the preparations, previous historic attempts to reach the North Pole by air and the highs and lows of the attempt by aviators Helmut and Henrik to reach the North Pole in their tiny Cessna 206 airplane - and come back safely.
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Did they make it? Only one way to find out!
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The film is available in HD and UHD (4K) formats, stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Sales and distribution of the film is being done by Bazooka Bunny.
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Participation in film festivals is arranged via Boundary Films.
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